THE RULES OF THE MG14 ASSOCIATION

OF NEW SOUTH WALES INCORPORATED

Adopted July 1997
Amended April 2007
  You can Download these Rules and other documents from the Downloads page.
 
1 NAME
  The name of the Association is the MG14 Association of New South Wales Incorporated.
 
2 ADDRESS
  The address will be a PO Box Number in the Postal District of the Secretary as elected from time to time, or such other address that may be decided by the Committee. The Public Officer and the Secretary’s street address must be displayed on the Association web site
 
3 OBJECTS
  To govern and control the MG14 and MG14B class of sailing dinghies (the class) in NSW.
  To promote the class throughout Australia, in association with any other State or National body which may be formed.
  To conduct the annual NSW MG14 and MG14B Championships and any other MG14 and MG14B races which the Association sees fit to conduct. To co-operate with other MG14 State Associations to conduct Australian titles.
  To make available plans, specifications and advice for the construction of MG14 and MG14B dinghies, on a basis to be determined by the Association.
 
4 POWERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
  Subject to the provisions of these Rules the Association has the power to:-
  [a] Make by-laws, including the Class Measurements and Restrictions, to govern state-wide MG14 and MG14B class racing and to repeal, alter or add to any such by-laws.
  [b] Admit and remove Members in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.
  [c] Set or alter the annual affiliation fee, joining fee, and boat registration fee for the ensuing year.
  [d] Regulate it’s own proceedings, serve notices and accredit delegates.
  [e] Fix dates and venues and provide trophies for NSW Association events.
  [f] Appoint a Race Committee to supervise NSW Association events.
  [g] Amend these Rules, the Sailing Rules, and the by-laws.
  [h] Affiliate with any organisation having objects similar to those of the Association.
 
5 MEMBERSHIP
  5.1 FULL MEMBERS
    One only of either a Registered Boat Owner or skipper or crew of a registered MG14 or MG14B Dinghy may apply for Full Membership of the Association. A person becomes a Registered Boat Owner when:-
  [a] NEW BOATS:
  (i) The person’s boat is registered by the Association Registrar (after measurement by a measurer approved by the Association).
  (ii) A class registration number is allotted.
  (iii) The boat registration fee is paid.
  [b] BOATS PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED:
  (i) The transfer to the person is registered by the Association.
  (ii) Any transfer fee is paid.
  (iii) The annual boat registration fee is paid.
  5.2 ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
    Any other person may apply for Associate Membership of the Association.
  5.3 SUBCRIPTIONS AND APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
  [a] Membership is renewed annually on receipt of the annual subscription.
  [b] The Association may reject any initial application or any renewal of Membership without stating reasons.
  5.4 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
    Membership is terminated if:-
  [a] A subscription falls into arrears by more than six months.
  [b] A written resignation is received from a Member by the Secretary of the Association.
 
6 DISCIPLINE AND DISPUTES
  Disputes between Members>[in their capacity as Members] of the Association, and disputes between Members and the Association, are to be referred to a Community Justice Centre for mediation in accordance with the Community Justice Centres Act, 1983.
 
7 HONORARY MEMBERS
  The following persons may at the discretion of the Committee be admitted as Honorary Members of the Association:-
  [a] The Patron.
  [b] Vice-Patrons not exceeding three (3) in number.
  [c] Any person elected as an Honorary Member by the Committee.
 
8 HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS
  Honorary Life Membership may be conferred on a Member for outstanding service to the Association, or the class generally, when he or she is considered worthy of Honorary Life Membership by a 2/3 rds majority of Members present at a General Meeting. Honorary Life Members who are Registered Boat Owners shall have the same privileges as Full Members, or otherwise shall have the same privileges as Associate Members.
 
9 PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS
  9.1 Financial Full Members may:-
  [a] Vote at Association meetings, except that Full Members under the age of 18 years shall not make up a majority of a quorum.
  [b] Take office in Association affairs, except that Full Members under the age of 18 years are ineligible to hold the office of President or Public Officer.
  9.2 Financial Associate Members may hold any office in Association affairs, other than that of President.
  9.3 All Members may:-
  [a] Enter currently registered MG14's and MG14B’s in races sponsored by the Association.
  [b] Sail MG14's and MG14B’s in races sponsored by the Association.
  [c] Receive Association correspondence and bulletins.
 
10 COMMITTEE
  Subject to the Associations Incorporation Act 1984 (the Act), the Regulations made under the Act and these Rules, the Committee shall:-
  [a] Control and manage the affairs of the Association;
  [b] Exercise all such functions as may be exercised by the Association other than those functions that are required by these Rules to be exercised by a General Meeting of Members; and
  [c] Have power to perform all such acts and do all such things as appear to the Committee to be necessary or desirable for the proper management of the affairs of the Association.
 
11 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
  The Committee comprises Members:-
  11.1 ELECTED:
    The following people elected at the Annual General Meeting:-
  [a] The President [e] The Race Secretary
  [b] The Vice-Presidents (1 or 2) [f] The Measurer
  [c] The Secretary [g] The Publicity Officer
  [d] The Treasurer [h] The Registrar
  A Member may hold two Committee positions.
  11.2 CO-OPTED:
  The Committee may co-opt any of the following to serve on the Committee:-
  [a] Public Officer
  [b] Any elective office for which no nominations are received at the Annual General Meeting.
  [c] Any elective office which becomes vacant during the year.
  [d] Technical Advisers.
  11.3 NOMINATED:
  Delegates, one from each Club with 5 or more registered MG14’s and/or MG14B’s combined or from any group of such Clubs as prefer to be represented in concert, provided that Club or those Clubs are not already represented by an elected or co-opted member.
 
12 COMMITTEE LIMITATIONS
  12.1 Each member of the Committee shall, subject to these Rules, hold office until their position is declared vacant at the Annual General Meeting following the date of the member’s election, but is eligible for re-election.
  12.2 The Committee has the right to review decisions made by individual members of the Committee in carrying out their duties, except that this rule does not apply to the allocation of handicaps by the Race Secretary.
  12.3 A quorum is five (5) Office Bearers of the Committee.
  12.4 Neither the President nor the Vice-President(s) may hold their respective offices for more than four (4) years consecutively.
 
13 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND POWERS
  13.1 The Executive Committee comprises the PRESIDENT, the
VICE-PRESIDENT(S), the SECRETARY, and the TREASURER.
A quorum is not less than three (3).
  13.2 The Executive Committee shall have power to:-
  [a] Accept, deal with, and answer urgent correspondence.
  [b] Empower the Treasurer to make payment for moneys not exceeding $200 for any single item, or an amount otherwise determined by the Committee.
 
14 AUDITOR
  The Annual General Meeting should elect an Auditor. In the absence of nominations the Committee shall appoint an Auditor.
 
15 DUTIES OF THE OFFICE BEARERS
  [a] PRESIDENT:
  The President shall preside at all General Meetings and meetings of the Committee and Executive Committee.
  [b] VICE-PRESIDENT:
  The Vice-President shall carry out the duties of the President in the latter's absence.
  [c] SECRETARY:
  The Secretary shall:-
  (i) Keep minutes of all Meetings of the Association and circulate copies of them to the delegates and Office Bearers within three (3) weeks of such meetings.
  (ii) Maintain a register of the names and addresses of all Members of the Association.
  (iii) Keep in his or her custody or under his or her control all records, books and other documents relating to the Association. These items may be inspected free of charge by a Member at any reasonable hour.
  [d] TREASURER:
  The Treasurer shall:-
  (i) Maintain proper books of account giving full particulars of all moneys, assets and liabilities of the Association and of all moneys received and expended by the Association, and the reasons for such receipts and expenditures.
  (ii) Collect all moneys due to the Association and deposit them in the Association's account within 21 days of their receipt.
  (iii) Present at each Association meeting a proper statement of the financial position of the Association together with any books or documents which may be required.
  [e] MEASURER:
  The Measurer shall:-
  (i) Approve and instruct Club Measurers who shall be responsible for the satisfactory measurement of MG14 and MG14B dinghies within his or her Club or Body.
  (ii) Receive measurements made by the Club Measurers in accordance with the provisions of the Rules, By-laws and Class Measurements and Restrictions, and recommend the acceptance or rejection of each MG14 or MG14B for registration.
  (iii) Interpret the Class Measurements and Restrictions within the State of NSW and ACT
  [f] PUBLICITY OFFICER
  The Publicity Officer shall:-
  (i) Endeavour to collect all information pertaining to Association events and other activities of its Members.
  (ii) Do his or her utmost to secure publication of such information as widely as possible.
  (iii) Submit to the Executive Committee a written copy of all such material prior to publication.
  [g] REGISTRAR:
  The Registrar shall:-
  (i) Maintain a State Class Register of boats, consisting of Boat Registration Cards or otherwise, of all MG14 and MG14B Dinghies currently registered with the Association.
  (ii) Issue Class Registration numbers to new boats qualifying for registration.
  [h] RACE SECRETARY:
  The Race Secretary shall:-
  (i) Maintain a complete record of all Association events.
  (ii) Allocate handicaps to each boat entered in an Association event. Decisions of the Race Secretary in respect of handicapping are final and will not be subject to the over-riding determination of the Association.
  (iii) Maintain a current list of Association handicaps, which shall be freely available to Members and MG14 and MG14B clubs on request.
  [i] PUBLIC OFFICER
  The Public Officer shall:-
  (i) Comply with his or her statutory obligations.
  (ii) Maintain a register of the names and addresses of all Committee Members, together with the date on which the person became a Committee Member.
  (iii) Record changes in Committee positions within one month of the change.
 
16 CASUAL VACANCIES
  For the purpose of these rules, a casual vacancy in the office of a member of the Committee occurs if the member:-
  [a] Dies;
  [b] Ceases to be a Member of the Association;
  [c] Becomes an insolvent under administration within the meaning of the Corporations Law;
  [d] Resigns office by notice given to the Secretary;
  [e] Is removed from office;
  [f] Becomes a mentally incapacitated person;
  [g] Is absent without the consent of the Committee from all meetings of the Committee held during a period of 6 months.
 
17 FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
  [a] The Association funds must be held in a bank or financial institution account to be titled "The MG14 Association of New South Wales Inc."
  [b] Signatories to cheques and/or withdrawals shall be members of the Executive Committee as follows:-
  (i) For amounts up to and including $200, any one of the Executive Committee shall sign.
  (ii) For amounts exceeding $200, any two of the Executive Committee shall sign.
  [c] The Financial Year of the Association commences 1st April and ends 31st March.
  [d] The accounts of the Association shall be audited annually as soon as possible following the end of the financial year. The audit shall be completed by the 31 st May. The auditor’s report shall be made available to any Member of the Association upon request.
  [e] The income and property of the Association must be applied solely towards the promotion of the objectives of the Association and not be paid or transferred directly or indirectly to the Members of the Association. Nothing herein prevents the payment in good faith of remuneration to any officer or servant of the Association or to any Member of the Association in return for any services actually rendered to the Association. Duties as an officer of the Association do not attract remuneration.
 
18 DISSOLUTION
  The Association at a Special General Meeting may dissolve the Association by a resolution passed by a majority of four-fifths of those Members present and voting. If on the dissolution of the Association there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, that property must not be paid to or distributed among the Members of the Association but shall be transferred to some other institution or association having objects similar or in part similar to the objects of the Association and which shall also prohibit the distribution of its or their property among its or their members. Such institution or association is to be determined by the Members of the Association at or before the time of dissolution or in Default thereof by a judge of such court as may have or acquire jurisdiction in the matter.
 
19 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  [a] The Annual General Meeting must be held in the month of April each year, at a time and place to be decided by the Committee.
  [b] A quorum at the Annual General Meeting is ten (10).
  [c] Members must be advised of the date, time and place of the Annual General Meeting not less than five (5) weeks in advance. Nomination forms for Office Bearers must be circulated at this time.
  [d] Nominations for office, signed by the nominee agreeing to the nomination, and items for the Agenda, PROPOSED, SIGNED AND SECONDED BY FULL MEMBERS, must be in the hands of the Secretary not less than 21 days before the meeting. These shall be included in the Agenda. A Member may nominate for (or be nominated for) more than one elective office.
  [e] In addition to any other business that may be conducted at an Annual General Meeting, the business of an Annual General Meeting will be to:-
  (i) Confirm the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting and of any Special General Meeting held since that meeting;
  (ii) Receive from the Committee reports on the activities of the Association during the last financial year;
  (iii) Elect the Office Bearers;
  (iv) Receive and consider the statement which is required to be submitted to Members pursuant to section 26(6) of the Act.
  [f] The Secretary must circulate the nominations received and the Agenda to all Members at least ten (10) days before the meeting.
  [g] Nominations may be received from the floor for any office for which no formal written nomination has been received.
  [h] If there is only one nomination for an elective office, the person nominated shall be declared elected.
  [i] The President or Chairman in his absence will accept proxy votes in accordance with Rule 21(e).
 
20 SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS
  [a] Special General Meetings:-
  (i) May be called at the discretion of the Committee or Executive Committee.
  (ii) Shall be called following receipt by the Secretary of a written request by ten (10) or more Members.
  [b] A quorum at Special General Meetings is ten (10) Full Members.
  [c] A circular advising the date, time and place of the meeting and the Agenda must be sent by the Secretary to all Members at least ten (10) days before the meeting.
  [d] The President or Chairman in his absence will accept proxy votes in accordance with Rule 21(e).
 
21 BUSINESS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
  [a] Except as otherwise specified in these Rules, motions shall be decided by a simple majority vote of such Full Members as choose to vote on the motion, either in person or by proxy.
  [b] The President (or Chairman) may exercise a casting vote to resolve any tie.
  [c] Binding resolutions may be passed at the meeting only in respect of items listed in the Agenda, except in the case of election of Office Bearers at an Annual General Meeting, at which time verbal nominations may be received in accordance with Rule 19(g).
  [d] Other business may be conducted at a General Meeting, except that any decisions taken in respect of matters not on the Agenda are not binding on the Association.
  [e] Full Members may appoint another Member as proxy by written notice given to the Secretary no later than 24 hours before the time of the meeting in respect of which the proxy is appointed. The proxy notification must include the Full Member’s name, signature and boat registration number, the name of the Member nominated as the proxy, and may specify how the proxy is to vote. No Member may hold more than five (5) proxies.
 
22 CHANGES TO RULES AND OBJECTS
  The statement of Objects and these Rules may be altered, rescinded or added to only by a Special Resolution of the Association.
 
23 CHANGE S TO CLASS MEASUREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS
  The Class Measurements and Restrictions may be altered, rescinded or added to only by a Special Resolution of the Association.
 
24 SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS
  24.1 A resolution of the Association is a Special Resolution if:-
  [a] It is passed by a majority as determined in accordance with rule 24.9 at a Committee Meeting of which not less than 21 days written notice specifying the resolution was given in accordance with these Rules; or
  [b] It is made to appear to the Department of Fair Trading (or such other Government body administering associations incorporated under the Act) that it is not possible or practical for the resolution to be passed in the manner specified above, in which case the resolution is passed in a manner specified by the Department of Fair Trading.
  24.2 In order to change any part of the Rules and Objects or The Class Measurements and Restrictions, the followingrequirements>[ items 24.3 to 24.9 ] must be satisfied:-
  24.3 Any proposal to alter the Rules or the Class Measurements and Restrictions shall be subject to review by the Committee.
  24.4 Any proposal supported by 25 % of the Full Members of the Association shall be put to a ballot.
  24.5 A meeting of the Committee, at which any other Member may attend as an observer, shall be called.
  24.6 A ballot paper shall be prepared and circulated to all Members not less than 21 days prior to the date of the meeting. The ballot paper (or supplementary information included with the ballot paper) shall contain:-
  [a] The date, time and place of the meeting.
  [b] A draft resolution embodying the proposed change.
  [c] A brief explanation of the reasons for and against the proposed change.
  [d] Provision for voting on the proposed change (Full Members only).
  [e] Space for the Full Member’s name, signature and boat registration number.
  [e] The address to which the completed ballot paper is to be posted or delivered.
  24.7 Full Members who choose to vote shall record their vote for or against the resolution and their name, signature and boat registration number on the ballot paper, and shall post or deliver their ballot paper to the required address to arrive not later than the scheduled time of commencement of the meeting in which the votes shall be counted.
  24.8 At the meeting all votes received shall be opened in the presence of the Committee and such other Members as wish to be present, and shall be scrutinised by at least two members of the Committee. The total valid votes cast and the numbers in favour of and against the proposed change shall be counted and declared by the President or Chairman.
  24.9 The President or Chairman shall declare the Special Resolution passed if (and only if):-
  [a] In the case of any part of the Rules, votes have been cast by at least half of the Full Members entitled to vote, and of the votes cast at least two thirds are in favour of the resolution.
  [b] In the case of any part of the Class Measurements and Restrictions, votes have been cast by at least two thirds of the Full Members entitled to vote, and of the votes cast at least three quarters are in favour of the resolution.
 
25 RACING RULES
  All races conducted by or on behalf of the Association shall be conducted under the current Racing Rules Of Sailing of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the Prescriptions and Special Regulations of the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF), and the MG14 Association Class Measurements and Restrictions. Any appeal against a decision of the Race Committee shall be referred to the Yachting Association of NSW, and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee. Any decision of the Yachting Association of NSW on an appeal shall be final, except where the Yachting Association of NSW on its own Motion refers it to another Yachting Authority. All races will be sailed under Category A advertising restrictions (ISAF Appendix G) except when otherwise specified in the sailing instructions.
 
26 MEMBERS LIABILITIES
  The liability of a Member of the Association to contribute towards the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Association or the cost, charges and expenses of the winding up of the Association is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid by the Member in respect of membership of the Association.
 
27 COMMON SEAL
  [a] The Common Seal is the Association’s signature when entering into an agreement or contract.
  [b] The Common Seal of the Association must be kept in the custody of the Public Officer.
  [c] The Common Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of the Committee, and the affixing of the Common Seal must be attested to by the signatures of either two elected Office Bearers of the Committee or one elected Office Bearer and the Public Officer.
 
28 SOURCES OF FUNDS
  The funds of the Association are derived from entrance fees and annual subscriptions of Members, donations and such other sources as the Committee determines.
 
29 RULES OF THE ASSOCIATIONS INCORPORATION ACT
  When these Class Rules do not make provision for any matter for which the Model Rules for the Incorporation of Associations do make provision, the provisions of the Model Rules shall apply.
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